Spanish lab employs a unique solution to optimize immunoassay testing

Siemens Healthcare |
17-12-2010

Hospital La Inmaculada de Huércal-Overa is one of the most modern hospitals in the Andalusian region of Spain, with 205 beds serving 135,000 people in northern Almería. The hospital’s laboratory has seen its testing volume increase by 20 percent over the last two years, and the staff expects the growth to continue. Annually, the lab had performed three very different types of specialty testing in two separate departments: 25,000 infectious disease tests, 1,500 maternal screenings, and 3,000 allergy tests. To manage the laboratory’s growth, the staff decided in 2010 to consolidate the three disciplines into a single automated system that one technologist could easily operate. "It’s difficult to increase staff to handle the growth we’re experiencing," says Jiménez. "We had to find a system that could do more work with the same people or even fewer." The VersaCell™ system has allowed the lab to consolidate specialty testing into a single platform, optimize resource utilization, and ultimately, unite their lab.